The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders hosted an economic summit at the state Capitol on Friday.
More than 200 attended the summit intended to help connect local communities and small-business owners with federal resources resulting from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
It was the fifth in a series of regional economic summits held across the United States this year, starting with the first in Philadelphia, followed by others in Chicago, Seattle and New York.
“Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were devastated by the disproportionate economic impacts of the pandemic, and we saw how this impacted families, workers and businesses here in Hawaii,” said Krystal Ka‘ai, executive director of White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. “Today we are making good on the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to expand economic opportunity and provide the tools community members need to recover and thrive. Because AA and NHPI small businesses are the backbone of our economy. And when they succeed, we all prosper.”
Following opening remarks by Gov. Josh Green, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and others, a panel discussed the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to advancing equity.
Erika Moritsugu, deputy assistant to the president and AANHPI senior liaison at the White House, discussed her role, which is brand new. She and Ka‘ai are both from Hawaii.
“Krystal and I had the honor to work with the late, great, beloved Sen. Daniel Akaka, and he taught us how to lead with aloha,” she said. “We bring that spirit of aloha to the work we do for the Biden-Harris administration, with our colleagues.”
The panel was followed by breakout sessions on the small-business energy program and how to connect with federal agencies to apply for jobs, grants and programs, among other topics.
The summit was held in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Energy and National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship, among others.
“Hawaii entrepreneurs have shown incredible resiliency over the last two years and have set records with new small-business applications,” said Jennifer Kim, associate administrator for the Office of Field Operations. “The Small Business Administration is committed to reaching AANHPI entrepreneurs through these summits and the year-round work of our local district offices. We support the innovation, competition and unique experiences that AANHPI communities bring to the larger small-business community.”
On Thursday the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, which also met at the state Capitol, discussed and approved a sweeping set of recommendations aiming to advance equity and justice for these communities.
The 20 recommendations ranged from providing immigrant detainees access to competent translation services to requesting the U.S. census more accurately capture the various ethnicities within the Asian American and NHPI populations.
They addressed federal support for the Hawaiian language, among other issues, and recommended a national arts competition and ad campaign to combat hate and discrimination.
The recommendations are submitted to the commission co-chairs, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai for final approval, then submitted to the president.
Chief Commissioner Sonal Shah said she was grateful for the amount of work the commissioners put in and that the quality of the discussion over the recommendations was “extraordinary.”
The conversations themselves are valuable in shaping policy, she said, even if not all recommendations make it to the president’s desk.
“I’m very confident that the administration is very open to hearing, and is willing and has already implemented some of the recommendations,” she said.
Biden authorized the creation of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders through Executive Order 14031 in May 2021, followed by the appointment of 25 leaders as commissioners.
The order noted tragic acts of anti-Asian violence increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, “casting a shadow of fear and grief over many AA and NHPI communities, in particular East Asian communities.”
In January the Biden- Harris administration also released the first-ever national strategy to advance equity and opportunity for Asian American and NHPI communities.
The White House initiative aims to promote inclusion and belonging for AANHPI communities, and improve safety by better tracking acts of hate and bias, and expanding mental health care services for the population.
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INFORMATION ONLINE
>>To learn more about the White House initiative, visit hhs.gov/whiaanhpi.
