June 3, 2017

Asian American and Pacific Islander Leaders and Influencers Launch “(RUN)” -- A New Civic Platform That Builds AAPI Citizen and Cultural Power

WASHINGTON, D.C. / LOS ANGELES, CA – June 3, 2017

Today, AAPI leaders from politics and media have come together to launch (RUN) – Represent Us Now -- a new civic platform for the fastest-growing racial group in the United States: 21 million Asian American and Pacific Islanders.

(RUN) is focused on building AAPI citizen power from the ground-up through live events, creative campaigns, and digital storytelling. (RUN) was founded by Chloe Bennet, star of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC, Cate Park of Giant Robot, former Co-Chair of Obama AAPI Leadership Council, and Brad Jenkins, Managing Director of DC, Former Director in the Obama White House.

Chloe Bennet: Asian American and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing community in the United States and that number is expected to double in size by 2050. Unfortunately, we are the least likely racial group in the United States to vote. Year after year, we see other communities represented through vibrant and powerful media platforms, online movements, and civic organizations. Now, it is OUR time. (RUN) will reflect our power, diversity, and creativity.

Cate Park: Whether its YouTube creators, award-winning filmmakers, educators, engineers, advocates, or Members of Congress -- AAPIs are already leading. (RUN) will shine a spotlight on inspiring AAPI leaders – young and old -- to ensure that our stories are a part of the American narrative.

Brad Jenkins: Our media and political landscape has changed. Expensive television ads used to be the way that you engaged voters. Now, we organize and inspire tens of millions with the touch of a smart phone through , Instagram stories or Funny Or Die videos. (RUN) will harness the best and the brightest creators and organizers to lift up our voices and inspire the next generation of AAPI leaders.

(RUN) Ambassadors include influencers and political leaders: Kal Penn, Amanda Nguyen, Maulik Pancholy, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kelvin Yu. (RUN) launched this month in Los Angeles at Funny Or Die with Justin Chon, writer/director/star of the Sundance award-winning film, Gook; Kelvin Yu, star of Aziz Ansari's Master of None, Sujata Day (HBO's Insecure), Tamlyn Tomita (Joy Luck Club), Hudson Yang (Fresh Off The Boat), Chris Lee, CEO of Bad Hat Harry Productions (and the first Asian American to head a Hollywood studio) and 70 AAPI influencers and executives all dedicated to harnessing AAPI citizen power. Next month, (RUN) will be hosting a live program with Congressman Ted Lieu.

Last election cycle, Funny Or Die partnered with Rock The Vote and iHeart Radio to launch Everyone Votes, a creative campaign that helped register 1.7 million voters led by , Will Ferrell, Keegan Michael-Key, Ben Affleck, Katy Perry, and Usher. Most recently, Funny Or Die produced a creative campaign that helped 24-year old Amanda Nguyen pass a historic sexual assault survivor bill of rights in Congress. (RUN) will continue this important work – converting post-election activism into long-term community building.

For more information about (RUN), visit our website here. Op-Ed: Why We Started (RUN) by Chloe Bennet, Cate Park, and Brad Jenkins

Joint Op-Ed from (RUN)

Why We Started (RUN) Represent Us Now by Cate Park, Chloe Bennet, and Brad Jenkins 5/31/17

This past December, the White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders hosted a national summit celebrating AAPI progress under President Obama. While it was inspiring to see AAPI leaders from all over the country in one room, the day felt far from a celebration. Less than a month prior, the candidate who promised to turn back the clock on racial progress had won the hearts and minds of half the country. The summit that was set to be a victory lap for the fastest growing community in the United States turned into a wake-up call -- especially for three of us: one former White House staffer, one celebrated artist, and one political operative. We came up with the idea of (RUN) that evening. And, we haven’t stopped organizing since.

Millions of people -- many of whom are Asian American and Pacific Islander -- didn’t believe that their vote mattered much in 2016. Many didn’t like their choices. Too many believed that they didn’t have a voice at all. According to the GenForward Millennial Vote survey for 2016, Asian Americans felt increasingly alienated from politics and government. There are 21 million of us in this country. 21 million. We are the fastest growing racial group in the United States. In numbers, we are the definition of citizen power. But, day after day, we yield that power to others. Of all racial groups, AAPIs vote the least. It’s no wonder that Oprah book clubs and New York Times podcasts are dedicated to understanding what coal miners (all 83,000 of them) are going through, while we (21 MILLION strong) find ourselves still waiting for the day when our stories aren’t being told to us by Jesse Watters or Tilda Swinton. #SorryNotSorry

The wait is over. For those who are asking, (RUN) isn’t about whitewashing in Hollywood. (RUN) isn’t about political correctness or Fox News blowhards or our political parties overlooking our communities. (RUN) is about US. We need to Represent. Us. Now. No one is going to do this for us. And, the good news? We are already doing it.

Whether it’s 24-year old Amanda Nguyen who is organizing civil rights legislation across the country through her organization, Rise – or Ai Jen Poo directing 200 advocacy groups to fight for domestic workers and disabled Americans – this new generation of AAPI leaders not only understand their power -- they are manifesting it in historic ways. (RUN) will shine a spotlight on these new leaders. (RUN) will be a home for the APPI community to identify and discuss the issues that affect our communities. (RUN) will inspire. We will harness and organize our political and cultural power through local events, creative campaigns, and yes -- some social media here and there. That seemed to work well for our current President, I guess.

If you're still reading this, thank you. We urge you to head to RUNAAPI.org and sign up to host a (RUN) event in your community. We will send you a welcome packet and look forward to re-tweeting all of your instagrams and completed voter registrations. Our (RUN) Ambassadors may even show up and surprise you. We hope that you join us. Let’s (RUN) this.