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City & State NY: 2020 Power of Diversity: Asian 100
AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung (#28) was named by City & State NY as one of the 100 most influential Asian Americans in New York politics and policy:
Asian Americans are a rising political force. In 2013, Grace Meng became New York’s first Asian American representative in Congress. While John Liu’s groundbreaking mayoral campaign fell short later that year, politicians of Asian descent – like Assembly Members Ron Kim and Yuh-Line Niou, state Sen. Kevin Thomas, and even Liu himself, now a state senator – have boosted representation in Albany. And many more Asian Americans are in positions of power, whether it’s running a government agency, delivering services in the nonprofit arena, or achieving change through political or policy campaigns.
Yet the battle is not over. Despite being New York’s fastest growing minority population, the disparate and diverse group remains underrepresented in elected office. They have been overlooked, perhaps most notably in the de Blasio administration’s efforts to scrap New York City’s exam for admission into elite public high schools. Many face myriad challenges as immigrants, especially those who are undocumented. And the coronavirus pandemic poses a dual threat – a grave health risk compounded by racist stereotypes and misplaced blame on Asian Americans that have spurred a dismaying increase in hate crimes.
This year, we’ve identified the power players in the Asian community who are on the front lines of these and many other battles. We’re proud to introduce the Asian 100. . .
https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/power-list/power-100/2020-power-diversity-asian-100.html