Left: University of Washington student Christine Tran. Photo by Nick Feldman.

The arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates in July 2009 brought the issue of racial profiling once again to the forefront of US public debate this summer. Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct after being confronted by Cambridge, Mass. police officer James Crowley, who thought that Gates had broken into what turned out to be his own home.

As one commentator suggested, Gates had been guilty of “living in a home while black.”

What ensued was a firestorm of controversy involving issues of racism, police (mis)conduct, class privilege, the intervention of Barack Obama, and even a beer summit at the White House—with the American media providing wall-to-wall coverage of the kerfuffle.

Obviously, a political nerve had been struck by this relatively minor case.

Racial profiling is a US national issue and is manifest in different ways, from police harassment of African American motorists (Driving While Black) to airport employees and airlines mistreating passengers who appear to be Arab or Muslim (Flying While Arab/Muslim).

Racial profiling is thus a generic phrase that can encompass a variety of groups who are targeted for different reasons. Shankar Narayan of the ACLU’s Washington state branch suggests that this concept historically arose with studies that examined police traffic stops and drug-sentencing laws as applied to African Americans. However, this racist practice also increasingly extends to America’s treatment of immigrants.

For instance, an ordinance has been recently proposed in Washington’s King County Council that outlaws the profiling of immigrants. Ordinance 2009-0393 specifies that no government employee should inquire of a person’s immigration status without due cause in situations like his/her access to health care services or dealings with law enforcement.

Though this proposed law is thought to focus on the discrimination faced by Latino immigrants, Asian American concerns would also be addressed given the significant percentage of the community that are immigrants.

While this ordinance would not change much in terms of how King County currently operates, Narayan suggests that it would be significant in codifying into law an anti-discrimination statute that is independent of who is in the county executive’s seat.

The Washington ACLU has thus come out in support of this proposed legislation, suggesting that it would lessen immigrants’ distrust of government, encourage them to cooperate with police investigations, as well as facilitate their use of public health care services without fear of retribution.

Indeed, beyond the concern for immigrants’ rights, these first two issues of restoring faith in the government and police seem to be important motives behind the ACLU’s support of this ordinance.

The only question is whether the government and police deserve the trust of immigrants.

In 2009, the ACLU released a report that documents the US’s dubious progress on racial profiling. “Persistence of Racial and Ethnic Profiling in the United States” argues that the “practice of racial profiling by members of law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels remains a widespread and pervasive problem throughout the United States, impacting the lives of millions of people in African American, Asian, Latino, South Asian, and Arab communities.”

Close to home in the state of Washington, the ACLU report suggests that border patrol agents at the Port Angeles entry from Canada are increasingly using “’southern border tactics of racial profiling and harassment against the residents” of the Olympic Peninsula region.

Moreover, on a national level, many people are oblivious to the magnitude of racist profiling in America. In 2004, Amnesty International USA issued a report, “Threat and Humiliation: Racial Profiling, National Security, and Human Rights in the United States,” asserting that a “staggering number of people in the United States are subjected to racial profiling.”

Among its findings, this study shockingly noted that “thirty-two million Americans, a number equivalent to the population of Canada, report they have already been victims of racial profiling.”

Furthermore, it suggested that racial profiling can impact people in almost every aspect of everyday life including not only driving or traveling through airports but also while shopping, attending worship activities, and even simply being in one’s own home.

This last example is something that Henry Louis Gates can certainly attest to.

In Gates’ case, there was much talk about Barack Obama turning the incident into a “teachable moment.” But what was actually taught is dubious in nature.

After offering some mild criticism that the police “acted stupidly” in arresting Gates, Obama was confronted by an outcry from police supporters. As a result, he backpedaled and amended his comments to include criticism of both Gates and Officer Crowley, as well as propose his “beer summit” at the White House to smooth over differences.

The end result?

A contrived photo op where uncomfortable issues of institutional US racism, the criminal justice system, and the targeting of minorities in the Land of the Free were airbrushed away in a “feel-good” media moment.

But if one recalls the 1992 Los Angeles and 2001 Cincinnati rebellions or even the recent 2009 Oakland BART riots (all of which arose in response to police brutalization of minorities), this feel-good moment may last for only so long.

Some of the protections and rights under this law are:

• Death benefits for partners of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty
• Right to use sick leave to care for a seriously ill partner
• Pension benefits for partners of teachers and other public employees
• Right to worker’s compensation benefits if a partner is killed in the course of employment
• Victims’ rights

In addition to protecting the families of same-sex couples who are denied the right to marry, the domestic partnership law provides protection to opposite-sex older couples where one partner is at least 62 years of age. Over 5,000 couples in Washington have registered as domestic partners and they serve our communities and raise their families in every county in the state.

Domestic partnerships are an important, immediate step to protect Washington’s families, particularly for API communities. The API community is broad and diverse, with over 30 ethnic groups and more than 200 dialects. However, a common thread we share is the importance of family and community. Approving R-71 honors our families and community members who are not allowed to marry, and grants them the legal rights to take care of their loved ones. Supporting this measure also enables our elders to protect their partners and care for their families. A librarian who has worked for 25 years in our public schools deserves to know that if her partner outlives her, her partner will be able to rely on their pension for a safety net.  That’s what this law does.

Please join the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum – Seattle Chapter to approve Referendum 71. Unpaid leave. Pension benefits. Caring for a loved one. Knowing your family will be taken care of if tragedy strikes. Keeping a small business in the family. That is what the domestic partnership law does.  Vote APPROVE on 71.

The Seattle Chapter of NAPAWF is dedicated to forging a grassroots progressive movement for social and economic justice and the political empowerment of Asian and Pacific Islander women and girls. NAPAWF unites our diverse communities through organizing, education, and advocacy. Please check our Seattle Chapter website at www.napawf.org. If you would like to get involved in NAPAWF, or send us an e-mail, napawfseattle@gmail.com.

Trained at the Center for Third World Organizing in Oakland, Lynne Nguyen, above, has helped organize several events, including the 5,000 strong Health Care for All rally and march in May.

You’ve seen the signs. You’ve heard the supporters – and their opponents. The facts are scary enough without the fiction and that’s why there is such a strong push to pass national health care reform this year.

The facts: runaway private health insurance costs, denial of coverage because of pre-existing conditions and the high unemployment levels are driving millions of people out of any health care coverage. According to the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, API communities have a higher rate of uninsured (21.8 percent) than most, and are less frequently understood by health care professionals – including having cultural and language barriers. And, most small businesses, of which there are many in the API community, cannot afford to provide health care for their employees or themselves. There are over 45 million Americans who have no safety net.

There is a safety net here in the Seattle API community. Over 35 years ago, the I.D. Free Clinic provided free basic health care to the elderly residents of Seattle’s Chinatown International District. Today, ICHS is a $20 million dollar community medical, dental and acupuncture clinic at New Holly as well as in the International Examiner serving 16,000 people a year. But, ICHS, and all other community-based health clinics, are in real jeopardy if health care reform is not accomplished this year.

In 2008, 19 percent of ICHS patients were uninsured – costing ICHS $1.5 million – with another 20 percent on state funded Basic Health. With deficits at the state, county and city as well as the federal level, it is hard to know whether Basic Health insurance will continue. And, that’s why ICHS CEO, Teresita Batayola is a leading health care reform advocate, including having been the emcee at the May 30th Health Care for All rally in Pratt Park with 3,500 people.

Another API leader in health care reform is Sofia Aragon, Senior Government Affairs Advisor for the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) that represents 12,000 registered nurses in the state. As a second generation nurse, she saw first hand the struggle her mother went through as a nurse educated in the Philippines and who could not get licensed as an RN here in the states.

As an RN and attorney, Aragon wanted to affect health policy. She worked as a legislative policy analyst for the Washington State Department of Health before becoming an advocate for the WSNA. Aragon is also focused on recruiting new people – especially bilingual/bicultural – into the nursing field. There is still a real shortage of nurses and it’s a great profession for young people in the API community to consider. Participation on the front lines of health care reform is a natural extension of Aragon’s ongoing work.

There is also a new generation of advocates in the API community. Lynne Nguyen is lead health care organizer at WashingtonCAN, a coalition of organizations committed to supporting the needs of lower income families in the state. She has helped to organize several events, including the May 30th Health Care for All rally and march.

Raised in southern California and a graduate of UCLA, Lynne grew up in a socially conscious family and all three of her older sisters are community activists.

“Health care reform is important for API communities in particular because we are so deeply impacted by the issue,” said Nguyen. “We need a public health insurance option as part of the reform to make the private health insurance companies accountable & honest, and to reduce costs.” After health care legislation passes Congress, Nguyen will move on to another community organizing project. Oh, and did I mention that Lynne Nguyen is 24 years-old?

Activists or not, no one can sit on the sidelines. The health care system is broken and reform is needed now. People can differ on specific elements of health care reform, but everyone needs to push the U.S. House and Senate to work to pass Health Care Reform NOW! Call your Congressperson and Senators Cantwell and Murray. Give them the courage to do the right thing. Health insurance reform needs to happen this year.

Call: 877-264-HCAN